The beauty of baseball is you never know where the key contributions are going to come from.
Bonita’s Matt Rodriguez and Robert Mier, both hitless on the afternoon, saved their best for last to help the Bearcats win another nail-biter, this one a 2-1 squeaker over Downey at Bonita on Tuesday afternoon. With the win, Bonita now faces Lancaster in the semifinals at home on Friday.
Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh, the Bearcats sent up hitters Nos. 8, 9 and 1, and they all delivered when it counted most.
Designated hitter Matt Rodriguez led off with a double, which sent a charge through the Bonita crowd. After failing to get a bunt down, catcher Mark Lindsay lofted a long fly to right field moving Rodriguez, who beat a strong throw, to third. “We trust Mark with the bat in that situation,” head coach John Knott said.
Then Mier, who had struck out and flied out twice, banged the first pitch for a solid single to left, and the victory mugging at home plate was under way.
“My whole mindset was not to just hit it on the ground,” Mier said about his winning hit. “Their infield was in, so I was just trying to put it somewhere in the outfield deep enough for the runner to score.”
What a difference one good swing makes.
“It really just takes one swing to change your whole day around,” Mier added.. “The first three at-bats, I was really struggling. He was throwing me a lot of off-speed stuff. That last at-bat I knew he was going to give me something off speed because he’d been getting me out with it all game. It was just a matter of whether I was going to wait on it or not.”
Rodriguez said he relished the opportunity to make a big contribution in such a significant game.
“I’ve done it before, and I wanted to do it again,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said he was looking curveball, and he got it.
“It’s a pitch I’ve hit good all year and I wanted it again.”
After his lead-off double, Rodriguez said he liked Bonita’s chances.
“I knew we were going to win,” he said, still out of breath after the pounding he took upon spiking home plate with the winning run.
Just a junior, Rodriguez hasn’t been an everyday player, but Knott gave him the call on Tuesday, and he came up big.
“I haven’t played a lot, so it’s good to get my hits when I can, and ones like this are great.”
“He’s got a ton of ability,” said Knott. “It would have been really easy for him to personally press. He was 0-for-2. He just stayed on a curveball and got through it.”
On the mount, Bonita starter Brian Tuttle also got through it, pitching brilliantly, surrendering just five hits against a powerful offensive team. He was nicked for a run in the fourth and in the fifth he gave up a one-out double, but after that Tuttle was in total command. In the all-important seventh, he set down Downey in order to give Bonita the chance to win it in the bottom half of the inning.
“Brian was around the plate, he had great tempo,” Knott said. “He gave up the one run for the tie, but he didn’t put any extra pressure on himself. He kept executing pitches.”
Tuttle threw nine balls the entire game. When Downey put the ball in play, Bonita shined on defense, not committing an error.
“That was the best pitching performance of his life,” Bonita pitching coach Mitch Newell said. “And it was the best pitching performance when we needed it most.”
That’s because Downey’s Anthony Cortez, just a sophomore, was almost as good, giving up seven hits and the two runs. He wiggled out of jams in the first and second, gave up a run on a blooper by Tuttle in the third and then just the winning run in the seventh.
“I think we came out a little nervous,” Knott said. “We tried to force the issue too much.” “It wasn’t our best game offensively, but when you’re in CIF it’s just about advancing.”
Indeed, Bonita advances to the quarterfinals on Friday, facing Lancaster, which upended South Hills, 8-7. The game will be played at 3:15 at home.
Filed May 25, 2010. Photos courtesy of the Gary Pine family.
FRANKLIN LOAN CENTER: Where your home financing needs are met with honest, responsible, experienced consultants, 333 East Foothill Blvd., San Dimas, Marc Burns, Branch Manager, (909) 962-6351, mburns@franklinlc.com.
Leave a Reply